Toshiba president Atsutoshi Nishida weighed in today with his opinion on a dual-format HD DVD/Blu-ray player, joining the chorus of other manufacturers who have edged ever closer to a unified format for high definition DVDs. Nishida said to an annual shareholders meeting:

"We have not given up on a unified format. We would like to seek ways for unifying the standards if opportunities arise."

These electronics manufacturers are probably growing weary of this costly format war, which looks more like the VHS/Betamax debacle every day. Samsung just last week vacillated
on its plans to put together a combo player, where a middle manager first said the company would make a combo player and a couple of days later Samsung's PR-meisters beat a hasty retreat. Other manufacturers such as LG
have also expressed interest in a truce as well.

We're thinking it's inevitable that a combo player will arise and become the new standard. The question is, how many consumers will be suckered into buying into one format or another before this unification takes place? – Charlie White